As Germany mourns the deaths of at least five people after a vehicle intentionally plowed into crowded Christmas marketauthorities are working to understand the suspect behind the attack.
The suspect – identified by local media as Taleb A., 50 – had lived and worked as a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy in Germany for two decades, authorities said.
Originally from Saudi Arabia, Taleb arrived in Germany in 2006 and was recognized as a refugee in 2016, CBS News partner The BBC reported. He worked at the Salus-Fachklinikum Bernburg, a specialist clinic in Bernburg, about 40 km south of Magdeburg.
In a Instagram post On Saturday, the clinic said it was “shocked to learn that the alleged perpetrator worked as a specialist doctor within our Bernburg police force”. He added that Taleb had been working at the company since March 2020 but had been off duty since October 2024 due to illness and vacation.
“We have been supporting the work of the investigating authorities in every possible way since late hours,” and they are “stunned and shocked by this horrific attack.”
A Saudi source said Reuters that Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about the attacker after he posted extremist views on his personal X account that threatened peace and security.
Taleb’s He also described himself as a former Muslim.
He criticized German authorities, saying they had not done enough to combat “Europe’s Islamism.”
He also expressed support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Michael Probst / AP
The German newspaper FAZ said it interviewed the suspect in 2019 and described him as an anti-Islam activist.
“People like me, who are of Islamic origin but are no longer believers, find neither understanding nor tolerance from Muslims here,” he was quoted as saying. “I am the most aggressive critic of Islam in history. If you don’t believe me, ask the Arabs.
Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to encounter a suspect in an act of mass violence with this profile.
Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this ‘business,’ you think nothing can surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old ex-Saudi Muslim who lives in East Germany, who loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance of Islamists, that really wasn’t on my radar.”
Some have described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their country. Recently, he has seemed focused on his theory that German authorities are targeting Saudi asylum seekers.
Ebrahim Noorozi/AP
On Saturday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters: “At this stage we can only say with certainty that the perpetrator was clearly Islamophobic – we can confirm that. Everything else needs further investigation and we have to wait.
A Germany-based organization, Atheist Refugee Relief, said the alleged attacker was not part of the group and claimed he had made “numerous accusations and allegations” against it and former board members , which she claimed were false.
“We distance ourselves from him in the strongest terms,” the group said in a statement on its website, adding that members of Atheist Refugee Relief filed a criminal complaint against him in 2019 following “ slander and the most vile verbal attacks.”
Taleb was arrested on the spot after he drove a black BMW into a Christmas market crowded with Christmas shoppers on Friday evening in Magdeburg, killing at least five people and injuring around 200 others.